The Salad

Saying that my daughter Natalie is finicky is an understatement. Her “Top 10” list of favorite foods ends at 8, because she doesn’t like more than that. (And four of the top eight are candy.)

So I was surprised this evening when she told me that she had made a salad for me. Apparently she had been watching a cooking show and was inspired. It was greens from a bagged salad, diced apples and carrots, sprinkled with fresh-squeezed tangerine juice.

She watched as I judged it. You know, it was pretty good. It was  tangy innocence, with an underhint of, well, carrot. I gave it a good review and continued to eat it. She asked, “Is it really good or are you just trying to make your kid happy?”

p.s. She said that she wants to be a chef when she grows up. Her mother cautioned that this might be hard given her unwillingness to taste new food. She answered that her assistant will be the taster.